Council reviews response to flood event

A severe storm Sunday evening that brought hail and approximately two inches of rain left the Brush downtown area with several inches of water. (Courtesy photo)

At its June 23rd meeting, Brush City Council members and city officials responded to some criticism the city has received to its response to the severe rain and flood event that struck Brush on Sunday. It has been reported that Brush received some two to two and a half inches of rain and hail in a short period of time. Officials said it did its best to respond to issues that arose from the rain, but was hampered somewhat by the widespread nature of the issues such as flooding and necessary street closures with limited personnel to respond.Director of Public Works Dale Colerick said Brush did experience a significant precipitation event and the amount of hail and rain stripped foliage from trees, downed branches and leaves and started plugging drains causing quite a bit of localized flooding.He said it’s important to note that there was a significant lightening storm at the same time and it’s important to not put crews in harm’s way.Coloerick said it has a limited crew and a fair amount of land to cover and can’t be everywhere all at once. He did thank the citizens who were able to help crews out. Police Chief Mark Thomas also echoed comments regarding resource limitation. He officers had to first handle 9-1-1 calls, which take first priority, but as soon as personnel were freed up, "We did shut down Highway 34 until city crews got out and coned it off.”Brush City Administrator Monty Torres said the Brush Fire Department volunteers were a big help.

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He added that it takes time to shut down streets and there were multiple areas that needed attention. He said it was a difficult situation, especially since the city got hit so hard.Councilor Kimberly Dykes said she fielded a fair number of phone calls from people who thought once the lightening was done, the response was still too slow. She said, “Frustrations are high, it’s hard when you look at losing everything.” She said of the city’s future plans to deal with flood-prone areas in Brush once the work downtown is complete, “We have said we will do it, we need to start. We need to get this resolved.”In staff reports, Director of Parks and Recreation Lance Schwindt said the swimming pool is now open. He said they were able to repair a leak and feels confident the pool will be able to stay open the remainder of the summer.He said there still are some issues with the pool with leaks underneath the building and once this pool season is over, the city needs to consider additional work on the pool or even possibly a new pool. He thanked community members for their patience regarding the delayed opening of the pool.Torres said the city is planning on celebrating Brush’s recent All-America City awards at various community events in the near future.